Update: Missing person from Empire makes contact with family
.jpg "Photos of Sammy Gonzales from missing-person flier")
Update: The family says the missing person made contact Wednesday night.
Original story: A missing-persons case has been opened by Modesto police concerning a gender-fluid person on the autism spectrum who left home in Empire on Monday morning and has not contacted family.
The family is worried about the 22-year-old, whose last name is Gonzales and who goes by Samuel, Samantha and Sammy.
Sammy “goes on dating apps and talks to random men,” stepfather Leonardo Arreguin told The Bee. Sammy typically goes smoking with the men but has “never left for more than an hour and a half.”
The family told police that the person Sammy left with Monday is named Jesus. Arreguin said Jesus is “the only guy that (Sammy) has really talked to us about,” but the family has not been able to contact either. They left in a gray car.
Sammy was last seen wearing black fringed shorts, a black shirt tied in the back and black combat boot heels. Asked if Sammy typically presents as female, Arreguin said, “With him, every day it is different to what he identifies as.”
Sammy is not familiar with the Modesto area, Arreguin said. “... he usually just plays with dolls, doesn’t have friends, he knows the Manteca area only.”
According to a flier headlined “At risk missing,” Sammy is 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighs 265 pounds and has dark hair and brown eyes.
Anyone who sees him is urged to call the Modesto police at 209-572-9500 or 818-457-7086.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 1:22 PM.
